Heraklion: What to See & Do

ATTRACTIONS

The Archaeological Museum. 
At Odos Xanthoudidou (far corner of Eleftheria Square),  Iraklion, Tel 0810-226092. An illustrated guide is at the museums gift stand.

Heraklion Museum, which has appropriated major finds from all regions of the island, presents a comprehensive record of Neolithic, Minoan, Hellenistic and Roman stages of the islands History. 

This is the world's premier collection of art and artifacts from the Minoan civilization. Although many of its most spectacular objects are from Knossos, it does have finds 
from other sites. 

The variety of objects, styles, techniques, and materials will amaze all who have not previously focused on the Minoans. Among the most prized objects are the snake goddesses from Knossos, the Phaestos Disc, the bee pendant from Mallia, the carved vases from Ayia Triadha and Kato Zakros, and various objects testifying to the famous bull-leaping. Upstairs are the original frescoes from Knossos and other sites, their restored sections clearly visible (the frescoes now at Knossos are copies of these).

Tip: To avoid the tour groups in high season, plan to visit either very early or late in the day (allowing 1 to 2 hrs. for your visit); there are also fewer groups on Sunday. Most displays have decent labels in English, but you may want to invest in one of the guidebooks on sale in the lobby.

The Palace of Knossos.

Until Arthur Evans began excavating here in 1900, little was known about this ancient  people. His work showed that from 1700-1400 BC Knos sos was indeed either a temple complex or distribution center that stood at the cen ter of the first great European civilization. He rebuilt large parts of the palace walls, floors, stairs, windows, columns, and copies of the magnificent  frescoes were mounted in place of their original counterparts (which are now in Irak- lion's Archaeological Museum). Visitors can now wander through these  rooms. 
Realize that you are seeing the remains of two major palaces plus several  restorations that were made from about 2000 B.C. to 1250 B.C. Understand, too, that  this was not a palace in the modern sense of a royal residence, but a combination of  that and the Minoans' chief religious- ceremonial center as well as their administrative headquarters and royal workshops.

Touring Knossos  Click Here for a Map & More Photos

From Heraklion take bus #2, which stops along 25th Augustou Ave, and look  for signposts on the street. Tel. 0810- 23 19 40. Open in summer daily 8am-8pm; in winter daily 8am-5pm. 

The extended series of magazines (storage rooms with large clay jars) give the palace  its labyrinthine architecture and is its claim to fame. Also scattered throughout the  palace are circular storage pits that were used as depositories for the bones of sacri ficed animals. The giant pithoi (jars) for which the Minoans are famous were stored in the palace's northeast comer. 

A replication of the famous fresco of youths carrying  vases can be found in the corridor of procession. A bull fresco with large horns over look the  palace from one corner of the roof. The large open space in the middle of  the site, imaginatively named the Central Court, was probably an arena for bull-leap ing (see p. 417). The Throne Room, to the left of the Central Court, enshrines the original throne. A replica sits in an adjacent room for your very own Kodak moment.

The throne faces an enigmatic structure known as a lustra! basin. Iconography of the first palatial era, often depicting an enthroned queen or goddess surrounded by palm fronds, suggests that the Minoan civilization may have begun as a matriarchy.

Note the drainage system, occasional mason's marks on the shiny, cut-stone architecture, and the I-shaped cement bumps on the ground marking where doors slid into the walls in an ingenius system to let in or keep out the sunlight, as appropriate. The areas painted red around each window and door were actually constructed out of wood in antiquity; they cushioned the walls from frequent seismic shock but also facilitated the palace's destruction byflres after the earthquake and tidal wave of Santorini in 1450. Don't miss the Queen's Bathroom—over 3000 years ago she could flush her own toilet. This is also where she bathed in milk. The king had his quarters in the Hall of the Double Axes; "labyrinth" is derived from a word meaning "double axe." Finally, gaze upon the Royal Road in the complex's northwest comer. It is the oldest paved road in Europe and served not only as an entryway, but also as a reception area for important guests. At its end is the theater, with box seats for royalty.

Tip: The latter part of the day tends to be less crowded; Sunday also is far less frequented by tour groups. Here is one place where a guided tour might be worth the expense; your hotel or a travel agency can arrange for this.

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